Earth's Servant
by SinSidhe
Summary: Sequel to Death's Avenger. Like most murder investigations, it started with a body. But this time it was a demigod's body, and the murder was performed by neither a monster nor a mortal. With a threat to all Halfbloods, and the attempted assassination of the Avengers, Nico will be forced to use the powers he swore never to use. But once again, he has no choice in the matter...


**It's finally here guys! The long probably-not-so-much awaited sequel to Death's Avenger! Sorry I took so long, but I guess better late than never.**

Nico sighed as he gazed up at the ceiling which was now full of holes. He moved his head slightly, and winced in pain. Seated on the sofa as he was, upside down, with head on the seat and legs over the back, was not the best position for his neck, but he couldn't find the will to move. It was hot outside, the sun was shining, and it was horrible. Sure, the shadows were darker, but _sunlight._

Disgusting.

He shuddered, before lifting his hand upwards. A tendril of darkness shot out of his palm and wrapped itself around the black Stygian Iron dagger embedded in the ceiling. With flick of his wrist, the dagger was once again safely ensconced in his hand. Nico sighed again and allowed his arm to flop back down onto the sofa, not bothered throwing the dagger for the hundred and thirty-second time.

He wasn't used to being this bored. For the past year, since he had joined the Avengers, Nico's life had been positively hectic. It was rare for him to even get a day to himself, what with the crime fighting, training the new kids at camp, and his duties in the Underworld as his father's heir. Hell, this week was to be his first holiday in months. It was July, possibly the best month for being on vacation, what with the beautiful weather, the sun and stuff, but to Nico, who enjoyed the dark, the night, and cooler temperatures that allowed him to wear his aviator jacket without melting, this was worse than eternal damnation in the Fields of Punishment.

Since the defeat of Gaia, things had calmed down a lot. There were less monster attacks, the city's crime rate was declining on account of the presence of the Avengers. But fortunately, even with the lack of work in the mortal realm, Nico at least still had his duties in the Underworld.

Wrong.

According to Hades, Nico had been working '_too hard'. _

For the rest of the week, Nico had been banned from the Underworld. Literally banned. As in 'the guards will kick your ass out of the Underworld if you enter' until he had some 'fun' and 'enjoyed himself with people his own age', and 'talked with people who are actually alive, in the name of Zeus, son, get a social life'.

Nico had had a good few opinions on Hades' decision. They all involved a sharp weapon of some sort, and a lot of swear words.

Nico's ear twitched as he heard the sound of the elevator opening, and his dark eyes slid sideways to observe Tony shuffle into the room, laden with boxes full of kitchen appliances. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt the urge to stand up, and help Tony carry the obviously heavy boxes, but that urge was quickly captured, and then pulverised. If Nico wasn't allowed work like he wanted to for the week, he wasn't working at all.

Almost falling several times, Tony finally managed to blindly place the boxes on the coffee table in front of Nico's sofa, huffing angrily when his fingers were caught underneath the boxes.

"A little help would have been nice."

Nico, whose head was now flopped over the edge of the sofa upside down, merely raised an eyebrow, his face blank.

Tony rolled his eyes before slumping onto the sofa beside Nico, observing as he did that Nico was in the exact position he had been when Tony had left him four hours before.

"... I thought you were on vacation."

"I am," Nico intoned darkly.

Tony nodded his head in confusion as he watched the dark haired eighteen year old caress his favourite dagger. "And you're still in the Tower and not off someplace European with your fangirls and that midget cat of yours because...?"

"Because I don't want to be on vacation!" Nico hissed, throwing the dagger again without looking, feeling a moment of satisfaction at the resounding _thud_ the sharp blade made upon burying itself in the plaster.

"Why don't you- WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY CEILING, YOU EMO BRAT?!"

Nico scowled, and sent another shadow up to retrieve the blade once again. "... I'm bored."

"Well go find Loki, then!"

"He went to Asgard to get his notebook filled with all the prank schemes he's been planning to show me.

"The midget?"

Nico snarled angrily, "Fiend is not a midget! It's not his fault he's small, it's just how he is. Stop bullying him." He glared at Tony heatedly for a moment before once again losing the will to live and slumped back onto the sofa. "And you wonder why he destroys all your stuff."

Tony sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "So what, you're just gonna sit here for the rest of the week until you have to work again?" Nico shrugged, and began picking at his nails with the dagger. Tony shook his head, but his lip curled in amusement. "You really need a social life. Why not hang out with your cousin?"

Nico closed his eyes and fumed silently for a few seconds before growling out, "Why does everyone keep _saying _that? I DO have a social life. And for your information, Percy is in Greece with Annabeth, studying buildings. And rocks. And statues." Nico smirked as his imagination constructed the expressions most likely on Percy's face at that moment in time. Boredom was the most recurring. At least he wasn't alone in it.

"Well, go outside and play with your cat, then." Nico stared at Tony incredulously, before getting up for the first time in hours, and strolling over to a window. Pulling it open, he raised an eyebrow as the screams and catcalls from the street below, previously unheard of thanks to the sound proof glass of the building made themselves known.

"You came in the underground entrance again, didn't you. Those fanatics and reporters are STILL camped out there since the last time me and Loki went out the front entrance. TWO WEEKS AGO." He slammed the window shut, and rubbed his eyes.

"Why not go play on the roof?"

There was an awkward silence, before, "Fiend doesn't like heights."

"What?! That creature spends the majority of his time in your hair! Which is up high!" Suddenly, an angry meow was heard, and Tony looked up sharply to the top of Nico's head. "That's impossible... Your head was upside down! And, your hair! It's not long enough to hide a cat! What-why-how- actually, you know what? I don't care. You and your demonic cat can stay here and work on your magic tricks while I put this crap in the kitchen. Remind me to never let Thor try to cook again. Exactly _why _did he think he needed to supply his own electricity? Do you know how long it took to find replacements for _every single kitchen appliance we own?" _

Nico watched silently as Tony once again picked up his large box and carried it away. As soon as Tony left the room, Nico reached up and grabbed Fiend by the scruff of his neck, lifting him down so they were eye to eye.

"... When did you get up there? I didn't even notice..."

The cat just swung silently, staring at him smugly. Nico scoffed, and placed Fiend on the floor, running a hand through his hair with distaste. "Stupid cat."

Shaking his head, Nico made his way back to the sofa. All this not-so-exciting socialising had fought back against the boredom, but once again it began to take over. His movements once again became sluggish, and he sprawled face first into the upholstery.

"I have never been this bored in my entire life..."

There was a sudden shifting of feet in the corner of the room.

Nico shot off of the sofa so fast, that to him the room was a blur. His sword was summoned and pointed at the newcomer before their identity came into focus.

"Dammit, Alecto. Tricking me into thinking something interesting was about to happen." He continued to mutter angrily to himself as he banished his sword back to his room. "Why are you here?"

Alecto took in his messy hair and petulant expression, and began to smile her fanged smile before she stopped, and her expression became stressed and worried. The fury shook her head and cleared her throat. "My apologies, Prince, but your father sent me here with urgent news. He says you need to hear this before the Director informs you of the problem so that you can educate them on the real cause."

"Problem?" Nico asked, "What problem? Has something happened in my father's kingdom? Why are the mortals involved there has?"

"If you would allow me to finish," the fury cut in. Nico fell silent, nodding at her to continue.

"As I was saying. The mortal Nick Fury will arrive in exactly two minutes to inform you of the situation. However, the mortals know nothing of what is truly happening. Upon your team's arrival, you must tell them straight away that the victim was a demigod, and that they have been tasked by the gods to assist you in finding the culprit."

"A demigod's been murdered?" Nico asked, "Alecto, tell me who. NOW!"

"No one you know, sire," the fury stated matter of factly, "An unimportant son of Aphrodite. One of many."

"No demigod is unimportant, Alecto." Nico glared at her, and the fury shifted uneasily. "Now tell me why the mortals are involved. Demigods are murdered by monsters every day and the mortals never see any of it. Why was this any different?"

"It was different because the demigod was not killed by a monster we know of, nor by a mortal."

"Alright," Nico said slowly, "That still doesn't explain why my father would be involved in this. Quit beating around the bush, Alecto. Just tell me."

She swallowed, and her eyes darted around the room. Nico could not help but notice that Alecto seemed very nervous. Almost as if she would rather be anywhere else than in the mortal world.

"My Lord," she said, quietly, "The demigod... well, the demigod's spirit... never reached the Underworld. It seems to have been... for lack of a better word, stolen..."

"WHAT?" Nico yelled, but she was already gone, disappearing back into the shadow she had arrived through. Nico began to swear manically. This was bad, _really bad. _Hades, he wasn't even able to comprehend how bad this was! He began to feel panic in the pit of his stomach. The gods would likely recall every demigod back to camp. If one had already been attacked, it was likely whoever had done it was after more. Nico began to pace, shadows spreading along the ground around his bare feet, reacting to his turbulent emotions. And to think he had been grumpy over his lack of things to do!

"Nico! What the hell? What's wrong?" Tony had heard Nico's swearing tirade and had come running. He stopped abruptly on seeing the shadows in the room dancing angrily. "Nico, calm down."

"Calm down?!" Nico yelled, whirling around to glare at Tony, his eyes fully black. "I CAN'T CALM DOWN! SHIT! FU-"

"Enough, di Angelo," came the commanding voice of Director Fury. Neither had heard the elevator open.

Fury stepped into the room, his single eye taking in the dancing shadows and the enraged Nico. The rest of the team followed him, excluding Thor who had accompanied Loki back to Asgard, and of course, Loki.

"Jesus, Stark, what the hell did you do?" Clint asked incredulously. Nico hadn't lost his temper like this in _ages._

"Nothing!" Tony said, defensively. "I came in and he was like this! Oi, Nico, go back to being a whiney teenager!"

Nico ignored him and strode over to Fury. "The victim. It's a demigod."

Fury's eye widened, before his face became an indifferent mask once again. "Then why are we dealing with it?"

Nico hissed out a breath and clenched his fists. "Because of the circumstances. It wasn't monster kill, nor was it a murder performed by a mortal."

"Than what did it?"

"I don't know!" Nico yelled. "She- Alecto- didn't tell me. She just said to tell you the victim was a demigod, and that we've been tasked with finding the culprit."

Fury scowled, and said, "As if we don't have other things to deal with. Look, di Angelo, you can tell your gods to deal with their own problems. We've got assassination attempts on the team ongoing, and-"

"The rest of the demigods are most likely already being evacuated to Camp," Nico bit out.

Now Fury was glaring too. "So they're looking after their own people, and are expecting us to deal with the problem? Well you can tell your gods to stick their orders up their-"

"Director!" Natasha but in, grabbing Fury's arm and stopping him mid rant. Even if the others hadn't, she had noticed how freaked out Nico was. Nico, who was rarely bothered by _anything, _looked ready to start running around the room hysterically. She turned to Nico. "What else, Nico? What's the big deal about this murder?"

Nico swallowed painfully before answering. "The spirit, it was stolen," he told them croakily. "The very _soul. _If a soul is lost, it cannot go to the Underworld. It cannot make Elysium. It cannot be reborn. It is the death of a consciousness. _Someone stole it," _he growled, now enraged. "Someone fucking _stole a soul_! Do you have any idea what this means? By stealing a demigod's soul, you have the very essence of the gods. A fragment of their godly parent's power lies in every demigod. You have no idea what could be done with that power. This is an abomination. Did you know that the destruction of a soul is forbidden even in the Fields of Punishment? Destroying a soul..." Nico trailed off, and slowly wandered back over to the sofa. He fell back into it and placed his elbows on his knees, burying his hands in his hair. He began swearing to himself quietly in Greek.

The rest of the Avengers exchanged shocked glances. When they'd heard they'd be dealing with a strange murder, they hadn't expected _this. _ That Nico was so freaked out by this meant it was a million times worse they had thought it to be.

"Just... tell me about the body. Was there anything strange about it?"

Bruce, who had been standing silently beside Steve since he entered the room, stepped forward. "Well, the body was discovered earlier today in a nightclub not far from here by one of the cleaners. The murder was committed at around 3:00 AM, but it'll difficult to get an exact time.

"Why is that?" Tony asked.

"That's what caught our attention," Steve spoke up. "This wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. The body, not yet identified but estimated to be a twenty one year old male, was found in one of the stalls in the men's bathroom, completely drained of all bodily fluids. No blood, no nothing. The body's just a dried husk. I've never seen anything like it," he repeated.

Nico slowly lowered his hands. He fixed his gaze on his skull ring, twisting it around and around his finger. He took in a few calming breaths, trying to halt the emotions going crazy inside of him. When he looked up again, he was in control, and his trademark glare and calm bearing had returned.

He sat up straight and stared at his team, mouth twisted thoughtfully. Although he was once again calm, his eyes had not changed back from their full black, the glint of gold in them the only hint of the power that was caged inside him.

"This is bad. Really bad. As in your mortal minds have no hope in comprehending the absolute shitstorm that is about to hit."

"So something stole a demigod's soul," Clint said, "What's the significance of the drained body then? Some sort of ritual or whatever?"

Nico stared at a single point of the wall, running all the possibilities he could think of around his mind. He came to only one conclusion. "I can't be positive, but... I think the soul hasn't just been stolen... I think it has been... consumed."

**Aaaand chapter one done. I actually have a story plan this time, guys. And I personally think it's pretty cool :) Hope you enjoyed it, I know I took forever. I said I would write a sequel when I finished one of my other stories, but I haven't finished either of them... Anyway, next chapter will be out sometime next week. I'd love to hear your response to the sequel. I realise my writing style has changed a lot since last year, but I'd like to think it has changed for the better. Until next time!**


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